CITIZENS’ WILLS

Sun (Auckland), Volume IV, Issue 1065, 1 September 1930, Page 10

CITIZENS’ WILLS

PUBLIC TRUST RECEIVE* 6,000 A YEAR GROWTH OF DEPARTMENT

A successful Government den.* ment is the Public Trust Office th* business of which has shown cons* erable growth in the past year. 11 According to the annual'report tk, new business reported for the perw under review constitute; a record total of 3.845 new estates, and totalling more than £8,000,009 accepted for administration. The great increase in the groir' of business is shown in the folio*,-:: table;—II:::::::::::::: J ->§51.01!. 1930 £M.«S2,«S 4 “The growth in the number of *j],on deposit has been phenomenal,” « serts the report. “A total of ’egg.: additional wills were deposited wf., the Public Trustee during the and the number now held stands at 68,253, an increase of 5,412 over tU previous year's total. The different between the number deposited and the increase in the total represents ttiji, withdrawn through deaths of testator or for other reasons. “When it is remembered fhat on March 31, 1914, the wills after 42 years of office activity ntm. bered only 6,427, some idea wij] j, p gained of the extraordinary sdramin this department of the office »ot£ during the 16 years which elapsed since then. New wills arnow coming in at the rate of over 6,00 per annum, and thus the yearly h. crease exceeds the total accnnnb. tions up to 1914.” NO PROFIT-MAKING “The office is not designed as a fit-making concern, and its settta; policy is to share with its client* tb benefits accruing from successfd working and improvements in tnanai.: ment and control,” says the Pries Minister’s review of the Public Ties; year. “It has long been clearly shown that, after providing the cor. of working and management and the setting-aside of suitable reserves, the aim of the institution is to be no mora than self-supporting, and not to set, large surpluses. “Having regard to the value ol the estates and funds under administration, and the capital moneys in the common fund, it will be seen that hit only' business prudence that a stf-. stantial reserve should be acctmt.. lated to provide for the State guarantee. any deficiency that might site in the working of the office, and aiy other contingencies. “It may be said that the office it, in effect, a mutual concern.” says flu Public Trustee in his repor. “Its object is not to mah large profits, and its settled polls to share with its clients at; beneficiaries the benefits accruii: from successful working. After providing for working expenses, alloc;tions to reserves required by prude;; finance, and a return for the GoTerrment guarantee of the common fur; any residue of the earnings is return;; in one form or another to the clieu - “In former years this was done t? allowing bonus interest, the princip; being somewhat the same as that f ■ lowed by life-insurance concerns it distributing profit by way of bonusc ; to policyholders. Latterly the corcessions to clients have taken the fom of reductions in office charges and : • creases in the rates of interest alowed. “Although perhaps not so appare: the principle now* adopted is no lereal than the former one, for the fit-' charge is now made as low and r immediate return as large as POssiU It is considered that the system noadopted is the sounder, for it seer: preferable to make charges low first returns as high as praetta**. rather than to operate with a largo revenue, a portion of which will subsequently be returned to clients means of a bonus.”